PALERMO, Italy While Spain is highlighting its Arab heritage and proudly displaying the monuments left by Arab kingdoms, tourists in search of this heritage in the northern Mediterranean would do well to make a stop in Sicily. Palermo, the capital of Italy's largest island, owes its name to its Arab inhabitants of many centuries ago. In ancient times the city was called Panormus. Unable to correctly pronounce this Greek term for port, Arab immigrants who came here from North Africa called it Balarmuh, which gave way to today's variation.

In 827 the North African Emir Zyadat al Allah invaded the island at the request of governor Euphemius who represented the Byzantine Empire and who proclaimed himself emperor. Euphemius was soon killed by supporters of the Byzantine Empire, but the Arabs remained; by 965 all of Sicily was under Arab control and Palermo became the capital of the Arab emirate of Sicily. From a small commercial town, the city grew into a major population center, with thousands of immigrants arriving from the Tunisian port of Susa. It is estimated that Palermo had a population of 100,000. The mosques of the city and its outskirts, and outside its walls, number over 300 ... In truth I have't seen such a large number of mosques, not even in cities twice as large, wrote the famous traveller Ibn Hawqal, known as the Merchant of Baghdad, in the 10th century.

It is said that the Muslims who occupied Palermo from 831 to 1061, built over 1000 mosques. Little remains. The great mosque was destroyed in 1184, explains Giuseppe Bellafiore, an arts lecturer at Palermo University. On its remains was built the Coronation Loggia. Right across Sicily very little remains from the Arab era. The only buildings (that were saved) are the Segesta Mosque, the Hammam of Cefala' Diana, and some houses in the Cala, an old district in the port area of Palermo. Yet Arab architecture is present everywhere thanks to builders who applied Arab techniques to their work.

To get an idea of the influence of Arab architecture one needs to visit the churches and the palaces built by the Normans (who invaded in the 11th century) around Palermo. Just a glance at the fantastic Monreale Cathedral, particularly its cloister, and the Palatine Chapel inside the Norman Palace shows one how Arab art lives on in Sicily. The hand of arab masters is easily visible.

While doing their best to destroy everything the Arabs had constructed, the Normans still used Arab artists to design their churches and their homes. The Zisa Castle is a good example, located in an rab area called Al Aziz, home of the Norman King William I. A visit to Zisa would by incomplete without a peep at the magnificent Hall of Fountains, with its beautiful muqarnas, or Arab epigraphic etchings.

The hall has a wonderful system of ventilation, with cool currents of air blowing soothingly around the room. In the Zisa castle a visitor may feel he has been transported to Morocco, or Egypt. It is a great shame that where once a fabulous Arab garden of fountains portrayed the Qoran's version of paradise, today there is nothing heavenly left: Rows of ugly 1950s houses cluster on the once luscious garden.

Walking around Palermo, one may suddenly chance upon a precious artifact left from the Arab conquest. In the cathedral, for example, a column with Arab inscriptions decorates the facade of the most important Catholic church in the city. In the Abatellis Palace, where the Regional Museum has its headquarters, fragments of ornate doors, jars and vases remind one that this was once a Muslim community.

Besides traces of the past left in monuments, it is obvious that the Arab cultural heritages of this colorful metropolis lives on through the people themselves and the names they gave to different areas. Evidence of how Arabic has permeated today's society is seen in the survival of terms for topographic features which give an idea of the depth of Arab linguistic influence, says Adalgisa De Simone, a teacher of Arabic in Sicily. One ancient monument called Caltanisetta comes from the Arab word for fortress, Cala, while Minilmeri comes from Minzil al Amir, house of the Emir. Today many words in Sicilian dialect come from Arabic. In the alleyways of the city don't be surprised to hear favara for fountain, or gebbia for water tank.

On market days, the vendors' gestures and customs resemble those at any Arab market. At Vucciria, one of Palermo's most characteristic markets, the smell of spices seems to have drifted from the shores of the southern Mediterranean. Palermo's markets were born a thousand years ago with the Arabs, says historian Rosario La Duca. They've stayed the way they were, with the same colors, and the same ways people buy and sell.

The rhythm of the shouts of the Palermo sellers is like the call of the Muezzin. Nearly all the calls of the walking vendors begin with Aiamola," which derives from the Arabic Ai ya Mowla (Oh my Lord). Not just Vucciria, but also Attarini market dates back to the last millennium. Arab craftsmen had their workshops here and sat on the edge of the road, beating metal to the rhythm of songs.

If you ask the local people what's the most important thing the Arabs left in Sicily, the answer is always the same: U ciavuru, meaning an enticing smell from food, from spices. Who could resist the enormous oranges brought to the islands by the North Africans? Or the smell of jasmine and cinnamon, which blend with the sweet taste of honey and dates, almonds and pistachios, all widely used in the local pastries.

Couscous (semolina dish) is also a feature of Sicilian cuisine, accompanied by tuna fish caught in the warm sea which lies between Tunisia and this triangular island with such a colorful past. (Courtesy WNL)